The Shadows Betray You
by Lestats Cherie
Summary: It is impossible to prevent yourself from falling into the sentimental trap laid out by evil; necessary evil. Briar Lovell, no matter how hard that young woman had tried up until now, cannot stop herself from developing unwelcome stirrings, toward a man she knows is dangerous.


In my arms rested a rather scruffy looking teddy bear. It was caramel brown in colour, almost as smooth as fudge in texture, donning a snowy white button nose. As my legs carried me through the streets of Gotham, avoiding everyone who was pushing by and yelling obscenities, I wondered who it belonged to. My thoughts immediately jumped to a small child who might have dropped it during all of this madness, thanks to a madman who was currently parading around the city as though he owned it. To the people of Gotham, at least a handful, he was like a God. To me and a huge number of others, he was nothing but a maniac who should be locked up, if ever he would reopen the prisons. I was doubtful criminals would ever wake up to bars again now that this horror of a human being was supposedly in charge. I felt that the most appropriate place to take this adorable little cuddly friend was to the new _court _that had been established by his royal highness, Bane. A member of the public, who had once been accused of criminal damage and thrown into prison years ago, was its judge. All I could recall about the chaos he had thrown about, was the untimely death of Harvey Dent, a once true and loyal to his words kind of man. He would have been a great leader for our community, if Batman had multiplied to take on both Scarecrow and the Joker, as well as their minions.

There seemed to be something different and almost unique about this particular criminal action; Banes recapturing of what should rightfully be the peoples. Apparently, far too many people actually believed he spoke of justice and peace among all, but they were very wrong. If only such delusional minds could be corrupted with intelligence for once, the city would not be in such a state, and people like myself would not fear going to sleep at night under his watch.

"Briar Lovell, the last person I would expect to see here" Scarecrow said.

I scowled, despite the company around me. It was not known for me to show any form of politeness toward a man like him; one who knew he had done wrong but would never own up to it. Instead, he had chosen to sit back and lie through his teeth, watching others bear the burden of his guilty acts.

"Not a friendly mood at all, Lovell" he sneered, asking me to approach the chair.

Ignoring his sarcasm as best I could, my back hit the chair rather heavily as two men pushed me onto it. Cursing under my breath seemed to capture his attention briefly as he told me to speak up, so instead of making things worse for myself, I went on and told him what my problem was.

"Actually pansy, it's a matter of finding the owner of this rather worn out teddy bear" I said, smirking when he grimaced at my nickname for him.

"Order in the court!" he shouted, as a bunch of people to my right began chattering to themselves.

Silence surrounded the hollow hall, so much so that you could most likely hear the footsteps of a mouse crawling along the basement floors. Once every last voice had died down, a few people made way for someone to walk through them, and when their voice echoed around the room, I sunk low in my chair. It was Bane; his voice was unmistakable. My breathing became rapid and I gripped the thin material of my jumpsuit trousers and bit my lip to prevent any cries for help. I did not wish to be in a room full of people and the centre of attention to a man I loathed to hell and back. We had spent a few moments alone together already. In fact, they seemed to occur frequently, but most of all when he wanted a little entertainment.

I clicked the heels of my ankle boots against the concrete floor, and a stern look from Bane as he kneeled in front of me, shut me right up. My body froze instantly, though my breath continued to suffocate me with its increasing speed. Bane, who appeared to be smiling through the mask he wore, as it reached his eyes, gripped my knee with one of his hands. It sent jolts from my leg, throughout my whole body, almost as though I was a bug that had just been zapped by lightning. It was incredibly unnerving, to allow him the satisfaction of having such an effect on me. All he had to do was lightly brush my clothes and my heart would jump into my throat. It was clearly a sign of something I only wished did not exist; not with him.

With a shaking hand, I reached up to grab my sunglasses from their resting place on my head, and pulled them down over my eyes. At least now no one around us could see into my soul, and I was hoping that Bane had the same trouble. He squeezed my leg with surprising gentleness, and stood upright staring down at me. His eyes lingered on my face for a while, the room still silent as the grave. Then, they drifted down to the teddy bear I had begun to crush in my embrace. It was indeed a comfort, so whoever had lost it must surely miss it.

Bane offered his hand out to me, and I reluctantly took it. Gasps started at one end of the hall and finished at the other as he led me through the crowds and out of the building. Once we were outside, a few of his men tagging along behind, he still wouldn't release his hold on my hand. I can't say that I did not like it, as I did, perhaps a little too much now that I was able to think freely about it. As my mind was no longer filled with the faint whispers of Gotham's people, it became insanely clear to me what was going on. I brushed it off many times before, but each time something new happened, it all came flooding back to me. It could only mean that I was or had already developed strong feelings for a man I knew I could never learn to love. Or, perhaps underneath his hard exterior, there might very well be a loving and devoted kind of man. I scoffed a little at the idea. There was absolutely no way Bane could even come close to anything like that. At least, not with how he portrays himself in and around Gotham, showing his truest colours to the world.

"I think you'll find that precious bear you're holding belongs to me" he said, pulling me into a dark and abandoned building.

His men spread out into the darkness to stand guard, whilst Bane led me through to a room with steel fencing surrounding it, rather than concrete walls. I was a little unsure and somewhat scared by this, but when he let me go and walked forward, I released a long breath. As he stood with his back to me and his hands clinging to the fencing, he told me to be seated, but there was nowhere to sit but the floor, and that didn't look all to comfortable to me right now.

"Thank you for the offer, Bane, but I don't feel like sitting" I spoke, bravely.

His intimidating figure approached me until my back was pressed right up against the fence. With his face inches from my own, and his heavy breathing, my mind became clouded. I did not even notice him grab the teddy from my arms until he stepped back again, keeping it at a far distance from me. Curiously, I asked him why on earth a grown man would carry around a teddy bear, especially given the type of man he was.

"It holds many memories, happier memories, ones I would very much like to remember" he said.

"Oh" I said, shutting up immediately.

Bane never was the kind of man who would willingly open up about his private life, especially his past. Any man or woman who had spoken of it to him did not end up too well off, and I did not wish to join them.

"Bane, forgive me. I don't know why such a thing has anything to do with me, but what happened to you?" I asked, stepping closer to him.

Still with his back to me, one hand gripping the fence and another holding the teddy with his fingers, he took a deep breath. I watched his shoulders begin to shake a little and wondered what I had said. It had not been my intention to upset him, or make him angry, but at the moment I couldn't tell which it was. Slowly, he removed his hand from the fence and turned to face me. In the darkness, I could barely make out the expression on his face, and I don't suppose it helped in the slightest that his face was partially hidden behind a mask anyway. He walked towards me, and I took steps back again until I couldn't go any further. My heart quickened as he continued to step closer, it now becoming obvious that he was grinning from ear to ear at the fear he ignited in me. Sure enough, my previous theory about him lacking any matter of kindness had been true; it was truly impossible to imagine.

"Briar, is that right?" he asked, knowing full well it was indeed my name.

I growled in response, turning my head away from his intense stare. I just couldn't play his games anymore, for they always ended up with me getting hurt one way or another. Even if the games he played did not exist to him, and I was simply believing he knew what he was doing just to thrive off my pain. Surely he didn't know just how much I had wanted all this time to just jump on him, as evil as he was.

"I could tell you, but then, I might have to kill you" he said, with all seriousness.

Panic coursed through my veins at his words, and the deadly look in his eyes, but I wouldn't allow him to see just how afraid I was. Besides, since moving to Gotham years ago, I hadn't had much of a life anyway. No one befriended me and no one got close enough for anything else, so I wondered what I was so scared of. Nobody would miss me if he did take my life, so there was no reason to worry about it.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, noticing my eyes tearing up.

"Nothing" I answered, "Are you going to tell me then?"

Bane, a little taken back by my bravery, stuttered a moment before stepping back again. He stood there, still as a soldier, just watching me. My cheeks grew hot under his gaze, but I was thankful the darkness was probably hiding most of it. Then, he unexpectedly grabbed my hand again, his other clinging tightly to the bear he had lost, and pulled me through a dark tunnel.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, trying to free my hand.

Even the touch of his hand on mine sent jolts right through me; it was unnerving. The further we walked, the darker it became and my fear rose dramatically. I tried to focus on something that would distract me from my inward battle to launch at him and make a run for it. Darkness had never been my favourite, and I certainly wasn't comfortable being led through a whole load of it by a crazy man like Bane.

"This is where I spent most of my childhood and teenage years" he said, releasing me.

I looked around the darkened area and became incredibly frustrated when I realised I couldn't see a thing. Then, I heard the sound of electricity and a loud rumble; he had turned on the lights above us. My eyes scanned the area for a long while before I understood what had happened to him. Bane had been imprisoned for most of his life, and this must have been his cell that we were currently standing in. The thought of him being held in here for so many years, as well as many others, made me shiver in horror. It did not look too nice a place at all and I couldn't imagine how anyone would survive so long in such poor conditions.

"Bane, I'm sorry, I didn't.." I said.

"Joseph, my real name is Joseph" he said, turning to face me.

The tears slipping from what were usually emotionless eyes shot pain right through my chest. I had never seen him in such a state before, and knew it must have been a terrible part of his life, being stuck down here without proper light, food or shelter. Sighing, I took a step closer, feeling braver than I normally would around him. After admitting such a thing, crying in front of me and making is obvious he was not a monster who thrived off of the pain of others, it was clear his heart was warm and gentle. I wondered then why he had caused so much trouble for this city, and why he insisted on tormenting me.

"Joseph" I said quietly, lifting my hand to lay upon his shoulder.

He was facing me, but his head hung low as though he was utterly ashamed of what he had become.

"I honestly don't think any less of you for this. Of course, given the destruction and damage you have caused to the city of Gotham over the last few months, I cannot forgive you so easily. However, I am willing to look beyond it all, as I now understand who you really are and what might have brought this upon you." I said,

Joseph looked up at me, his eyes asking a million questions. It seemed he thought I would want nothing more to do with him ever again, but he was wrong. It made me fall even deeper into dangerous territory when I realised my heart wanted him more than it had before. It was craving him, desperately. In his eyes, a flicker of something I couldn't describe flew by, but before I could speak again, he grabbed my arm and pulled me ever so close against his chest. His hand released its grip and he snaked his arm around my waist so I couldn't escape him. What once was frightening, became intensely pleasurable. Had I known he was thinking the same thing, I would pounce on him right now, but I couldn't be so foolish as to think he might just return my feelings. There was always something he wanted out of moments like this. I knew, he had done it many times.

"What are you after?" I asked, daring to meet his gaze.

"Just you" was all he said, slipping his mask off and allowing me to look at him properly.

My body froze in anticipation, for I had closed my eyes the second he pulled me toward him, out of worry. Now, it was like electricity running through my veins as I slowly opened them again, after hearing the air release from his mask, indicating he had removed it. I was also frightened of what I might end up face to face with, as he had always insisted on keeping his mask on at all times. He'd told me once it was vital for his survival that it remained in place.

"Wow" I muttered, trailing my fingers over his lips.

His lips were mesmerising; his top lip in particular with its delicious fullness. I was so caught up in watching his mouth as he spoke, that I didn't even hear him confessing his feelings, but it all became clear the moment he lowered his mouth to mine, and entranced me with a powerful and needy kiss I could just not turn from.


End file.
